Maple Leafs Hit a New Low Last Night: Captain Auston Matthews Breaks the Silence
Photo credit: Between The Posts
The Maple Leafs haven't been playing the same as of late, and they hit a new low when they got swept in their season series by the Senators last night.
The Ottawa Senators and Toronto Maple Leafs have not had a game this meaningful against each other since 2004. Saturday night's 4-2 Senators win wasn't just huge in standings terms, it could be a preview of a potential playoff matchup.
Toronto has now lost five straight games to Ottawa
Ottawa has dominated this rivalry of late, winning four straight from Toronto before Saturday's game. They extended it to five straight, sweeping the three-game season series with another statement victory on Hockey Night in Canada.
The Sens have been winning by shutting down Toronto's star players and continuing to run their own offense.
The intensity was there, the physicality was also there, and there was plenty of star power on hand, but Ottawa's fire burned brighter. It felt like a playoff war.
Auston Matthews knows his team did not do enough to deserve a win, and he broke his silence following the game on his team's recent struggles.
"The margins have been really small in the last couple of games, but the details in our game haven't quite been there," Matthews said, according to the Toronto Sun's Terry Koshan.
"It's on us to figure that out and to just be better."
"We have to get it through our heads that all of these games, especially (against) some of the teams we're playing, are going to be playoff-like games," he said.
"There are teams that are fighting for their lives. They're trying to make a push, they're desperate teams like the one we played tonight. We have to wrap our heads around that and just be better all around as a team."
"It's on us to figure that out and to just be better."
"We have to get it through our heads that all of these games, especially (against) some of the teams we're playing, are going to be playoff-like games," he said.
"There are teams that are fighting for their lives. They're trying to make a push, they're desperate teams like the one we played tonight. We have to wrap our heads around that and just be better all around as a team."
With the Senators poised for their first playoff berth in seven years, a first-round matchup with Toronto is increasingly possible. Ottawa is now four points behind Toronto and Tampa Bay for second and third in the Atlantic Division.
If the Sens keep rising, they might turn into a problem for the Leafs. These games simply mean more to them, as they've been fighting for a playoff spot for quite some time now, whereas Toronto has been sitting pretty comfortably in a playoff position for most of the season.
| POLL | ||
MARS 16 | 350 ANSWERS Maple Leafs Hit a New Low Last Night: Captain Auston Matthews Breaks the Silence Will the Leafs find a way to pull out of their slump? | ||
| Yes | 139 | 39.7 % |
| No | 211 | 60.3 % |
| List of polls | ||
MUST READ
TRENDING NOW
